


Deep Silver Sea

by ladydragon76



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Character Death, LD's Fanfic Jeopardy!, M/M, Secret Solenoid, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:28:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17254199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: Summary:What are the Decepticons doing down there in the depths of the Sea of Mercury?





	Deep Silver Sea

**Author's Note:**

> **'Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** None  
>  **Rating:** R  
>  **Characters:** Hot Rod, Shockwave, Barricade, Decepticon Red Shirts  
>  **Warnings:** Character Death, Violence,  
>  **Notes:** For Hound for the Secret Solenoid gift exchange! I really had just too much fun writing this. Happy Yule and a Blessed New Year!

"Fool of an Autobot," Shockwave said as Hot Rod dangled between two other Decepticons, his wrists locked together behind his back with magnacuffs. "Did you really think you could sneak into this facility and not be caught?"

"That was the general idea," Hot Rod replied as he looked around. He'd been captured the moment he pulled himself up through the moon pool and been held at blaster-point until Shockwave arrived. There had been no alarms or sensors that he could detect, so Hot Rod wasn't sure how they had known he was there- unless it was just bad luck in timing. That was possible. "What's the deal with this place anyway, huh? I mean, what? Megatron's got a base under the ocean on Earth, so you had to copy him and build this thing?"

"This facility is the cumulative work of three vorns," Shockwave said stiffly.

Three vorns, huh? The whole place was the sort of blinding white, brightly-lit travesty Hot Rod had seen in the few Earthen movies Jazz had smuggled to the mechs still on Cybertron. Hot Rod almost asked if Shockwave was part of some secret wannabe-futuristic, Earth-based villain club, instead -and with great effort because winding Shockwave up was a lot of fun- he focused on the mission.

"Uh huh. But why?" Hot Rod asked, head tipped as he finally rested his gaze on Shockwave. That was the big question, after all. Was this base there at the bottom of the Sea of Mercury just because it would be hard for Autobots to reach? And three vorns? That dated back to before anyone knew the Autobots and Decepticons had landed on Earth. Before they'd been reactivated from stasis lock, made contact, and Megatron started shipping stolen Earth energy to Shockwave, point of fact. What the frag was Shockwave up to? And why had it taken the Autobots _three vorns_ to find out about it? Magnus was _not_ going to be happy about that.

At all.

"I see absolutely no reason to explain any of this to a dead mech," Shockwave said and turned away.

"Aw com'on. You must want to monologue a little bit?" Hot Rod craned his neck around as the brutes carrying him followed Shockwave from the moon pool, down a corridor, up a lift, and finally into a much larger room. And who were these mechs? Rodimus didn't recognize them, and they weren't Seekers. Where did they come from? Were they drones?

They might be drones. They looked like mechs though, but none of Hot Rod's usually successful goading had worked on them.

"Come, on, Shockers," Hot Rod said, tone set to full-cajoling. "Impress me with your genius."

Shockwave stopped next to a terminal beside what Hot Rod thought was another moon pool, but on closer look, was just a deep pool set into the floor. "My intelligence is a matter of fact, and nothing I need to prove to you."

"If you say so."

That singular yellow optic narrowed. "I believe I will enjoy this next test more than usual." Shockwave pushed a button and a crane arm swung out from over the tank. "Bring him."

Hot Rod put up a little bit of a struggle, but the truth was he was caught too well to break free and run. Better that he save his strength. "Ya know, you'd probably do better to just let me go. If I don't report back, the other Autobots are going to come here looking for me. I mean, we knew you were here, just not exactly where, so they'll come, and they'll be more careful than I was."

"More test subjects," Shockwave said. He drew down a hook, which was attached to a cable, which was wound on a winch, which was attached to the end of the crane's arm. Hot Rod looked for weaknesses along the connections, but there really wasn't anything obvious.

Once the hook was caught around the chain of Hot Rod's cuffs, Shockwave pushed a button, and up Hot Rod went. It was _not_ comfortable to have his arms pulled up behind him in such a way, nor was it doing his shoulders any favors to have all his weight hanging from them. Hot Rod did his best to lean forward as he continued toward the high ceiling.

"So... what am I helping you test?" Hot Rod called down over the whine of the crane being swung out over the pool. The back wall was marked in mechanometers, and Hot Rod was left with his feet dangling about twenty mechanometers above the water's surface.

"You wished to know what I am doing," Shockwave said, and pushed a button on the console with a bit more relish than one who liked to act emotionless maybe should have. "You are about to learn. The highest jump I've managed to record was seventeen point three-eight mechanometers. However, it does seem to require a few practice jumps to reach those heights."

"It?" Hot Rod asked, but there was a shadow in the silvery water below him now.

That shadow grew, coalesced, seemed to tighten in on itself, and Hot Rod couldn't contain the startled yelp that escaped him as the biggest sharkticon he'd ever heard of launched out of the water. Hot Rod jerked his feet up as huge teeth _snapped_ closed below him.

"Hm. Only thirteen mechanometers that time," Shockwave said, as if he wasn't judging a monster trying to eat a living mech.

"What did you do to that thing?!" Hot Rod shouted. He squirmed, shoulders aching as he tried to keep his aft up against his own hands- though that put his face lower.

"I have been breeding and modifying sharkticons to use against the Autobots for the last two and a half vorns. They are the perfect killing machines, but not nearly aggressive enough to be of use. Ah. Barricade," Shockwave said, and Hot Rod noted the new mech in the room.

Barricade was known, and Hot Rod was almost glad he was hanging up as bait instead of down on the floor.

"Got the samples," Barricade said, though he froze only halfway across the room, watching as Hot Rod squeaked when the sharkticon launched at him again.

"Ah, much better," Shockwave said and made a note on his datapad, deftly stepping back to avoid being splashed when the sharkticon fell back down. "Over sixteen mechanometers that time."

"What's the kid know?" Barricade asked.

"Nothing, I assume. The samples?" Shockwave held out his hand, and Barricade was forced to come closer to the pool and deliver them.

Hot Rod's attention was torn between the sharkticon circling for another jump and the Decepticons. He needed to do something besides just dangle there. "So, like... You made the perfect killing machine more violent? And bigger?" he asked.

Shockwave's one yellow optic narrowed up at Hot Rod. "In the most simplistic of terms, yes."

Hot Rod snickered. "So let me get this straight. For _vorns_ you've been down here making sharkticons frag, playing with their coding, and making them... how'd you say it? More aggressive? And like... why?"

"Do destroy the Autobots, of course!" Shockwave huffed. The small crate of samples -Primus only knew of what- were plonked down on the console, and Shockwave stepped closer even as Barricade edged back. The two guards stayed where they had been left once Hot Rod was taken from them. "I do not expect-"

"I don't expect it to work," Hot Rod interrupted and tucked his feet up as the sharkticon jumped up at him. It fell short again, and though he wasn't sure, it didn't seem to be any closer. Once the noise from it splashing back down again quieted, Hot Rod looked at Shockwave and laughed again. "Autobots aren't ocean-dwelling. None of our bases are here. You could fill the sea with sharkticons, and you're not going to kill _any_ of us!"

"Incorrect," Shockwave said, tone every shade of indignant Hot Rod had ever heard. "You will die."

A button was jabbed, and Hot Rod dropped to well within the sharkticon's range, but Shockwave had helped him too. The sudden jolt of stopping gave Hot Rod the little extra oomph he needed to squeeze his hips between his bound wrists and flip over. No longer was he hanging at an awkward and painful angle. Now he could move, and move he did, arching and kicking to make himself swing.

"Stop that!" Shockwave ordered, and stepped closer. "Desist immediately"

"Shockwave..." Barricade said, but it was too late.

Hot Rod smirked, and with a hard arch-kick combo, swung himself out over Shockwave's head just as the sharkticon jumped. There was a startled shout, but Hot Rod was on his up-swing and busy praying to Primus that the sharkticon missed him, so he couldn't see who it was or what happened below him. Besides, the rafters were _right there_ , and Hot Rod needed to grab one.

"Oof! ...ow..." Hot Rod groaned as his 'grab' ended up being more of a 'smacked his middle on a pipe and folded up over it'. It worked to stop him from swinging back into the danger zone, but... ow.

Below, chaos reigned king- or the sharkticon did. It was easily three times the size of Shockwave and had already eaten one of the guards. Hot Rod watched from his pipe as the creature thrashed on the smooth flooring, chomping away at the drone-mech. It's tail launched the other guard into a wall, then slammed back into Shockwave's console.

That was a problem for Hot Rod as he was still attached to the hook and cable controlled by that console. He yelped as he was jerked, but sparks flared and popped, and the sudden slack almost caused Hot Rod to fall _backward_ off the pipe. While Shockwave shouted at the sharkticon from below -as if it'd follow orders!- Hot Rod managed to get the hook off his cuff chain. Getting back down was out of the question, so he looked for a way out on the ceiling.

There! A hatch was only a few pipes and girders away. And seriously, why had Shockwave painted _everything_ such a glaring white?

Hot Rod had just reached the hatch when Shockwave's voice arced out of the annoyed shouting and into a scream of pain. He shrieked again, and Hot Rod yelped and nearly fell as a wild shot from Shockwave's arm hit and sizzled against the ceiling. More shots went wild until finally the screams were cut off with a _crunch_ and the sound of rending metal.

"Well, that's good news," Hot Rod said turned his attention back to escape. He had left the little seascooter tucked carefully beside a craggy outcropping on the sea floor, and if he could just get back to that, he could get the frag out of the water and report to Magnus. They needed to get all the Autobots out of the sea before that mutant monster of Shockwave's made it free of the base.

~ | ~

"And where do you think you're going?" a deep voice asked as Hot Rod crawled out of a vent.

"Home before this place implodes?" Hot Rod asked and turned to see none other than Barricade standing there with a blaster pointed at Hot Rod's spark. "Shockwave's dead."

"I'm aware." Barricade's aim faltered a little as the base trembled beneath their feet.

"So, like, how about a truce?" Hot Rod said, edging back along the wall, the vent cover held up like a shield in front of him. "We both get back to land, go our separate ways, and try to kill each other _next_ time. How's that sound?"

"Won't work," Barricade replied, but he did lower the blaster. "Come here."

"Rather not."

Barricade tipped his head. "You want the cuffs on or off?"

"You're going to free me?" Hot Rod asked, then fell against the wall as the base didn't just tremble, but rather shook like it wanted to tear itself apart."

The distraction cost Hot Rod, as when he looked back up, Barricade was already there. "Hold still." The vent cover was cast aside, and then the cuffs fell away too. "I might need you for bait."

"Wouldn't leaving me cuffed be better then?" Hot Rod asked, not bothering to protest as Barricade gripped his upper arm and dragged them down the corridor.

"You wanna be cuffed?"

Hot Rod glanced back to where the magnacuffs have been left abandoned on the floor. "No."

"Then shut up and hurry up." Barricade let Hot Rod go and began to shove open a door, only to skitter back as water poured out over their feet. "Frag."

"Where's the moon pool?" Hot Rod asked. "Look, I've got a-"

"I know how you got here," Barricade said, and grabbed Hot Rod's arm again, practically running down the hall. "Sharkticons are faster than that little single-mech propulsion unit you've got outside."

"We could try."

"We would die," Barricade shot back and stopped in front of the lift just as the lights flickered out. "Slag."

Hot Rod blinked a few times as the purple -really? _purple_ \- emergency lights came on. "That's... Shockwave was an idiot. Those aren't bright enough to help at all." Sure, Hot Rod could see the line of the lights themselves, but there was almost _no_ illumination from them. Pits, Barricade's optics were brighter.

"Help me open this," Barricade said and dug his claws into the seam of the lift doors. "We need to go down."

Hot Rod obeyed, and thankfully this wasn't an Earthen movie where the otherwise well-maintained doors just wouldn't open. The lift was still there, though, and Hot Rod hesitated to step into it. "Uh... No power so, like, no lift?"

"Hatch," Barricade grunted and yanked on a spot in the floor.

There was a clatter, but even squinting, Hot Rod couldn't tell where the floor ended and became hatch opening. "Ok. How do we get down?"

Barricade's headlights coming on nearly blinded Hot Rod, but the Decepticon leaned forward, shining the light down. "Jump."

"I want to live, Barricade," Hot Rod said with feeling. "You jump."

"Water's only... eh? Twenty mechanometers down. Not far."

"And the sharkticon?" Hot Rod asked.

Barricade looked up and grinned. "Probably not in the lift's shaft." He paused. "Yet."

"Yet. Wow, that's really comforting." Though Hot Rod edged closer. "You need me alive and with you because one of us isn't going to be able to open any doors where water pressure's an issue."

"One point for the kid," Barricade said and sat so he could swing his legs down into the hole in the floor. "And here we were told you were a dim one."

Hot Rod narrowed his optics. "Why not any of the other 'Cons?"

"What 'Cons?" Barricade asked and scooted forward. Hot Rod thought he looked like he didn't really want to jump.

"Were those two guards with Shockwave the only mechs here?"

"Those weren't mechs," Barricade answered, optics and lights aimed downward. "Not anymore. Face it, kid, we're each other's best option."

"And if I hadn't gotten loose?" Hot Rod asked, because Barricade couldn't have planned for that. Right?

"Then I'd have grabbed one of Shockwave's spare pets." Barricade looked up with a frown. "You want to live or you wanna keep jabbering at me?"

"Waiting on you." Hot Rod waved a hand at the hold in the lift's floor. "Go already."

Barricade grumbled something under his breath, but then with a scrape of his aft along the floor, vanished into the black. Hot Rod heard a splash only an instant later, and he hurried to the edge to look down.

"Water's rising," Barricade call from where he clung to the side, his headlights below the water and reflecting oddly off all the white.

"Primus, he even painted the _inside_ of the lift shaft?"

Below, Barricade laughed, and Hot Rod sat on the edge. "So wait, hey, if we can't escape with my seascooter, what are we doing? You have some sort of transport?"

"Gonna kill it," Barricade replied. "Come on, we're losing time."

How were they going to kill it, Hot Rod wondered, but he _could_ see the water rising still. He was just going to have to follow along and hope. "Should I just sink?"

"Yeah. You hit, and I'll let go too. Come on already."

Hot Rod jumped, his spark clenching for that instant that he fell through the air. Bubbles fizzled and popped all around him, but as Hot Rod sank, so too did the light source which was Barricade. It didn't take all that long for them to reach he bottom, but the doors there were crushed inward. Hot Rod frowned. So much for the moon pool or whatever bottom level transport Barricade had wanted. Hot Rod nodded when Barricade pointed up, and they used the walls and handholds to drag themselves back up a single floor.

Opening the door there was harder than at the top, especially as the base rattled again. Hot Rod paused, helm tipped as he thought he heard a roar in the distance. Barricade had frozen too, which only made Hot Rod more nervous. It had been one thing, dangling above the water, able to see the sharkticon coming, brace for it and try to dodge. This was a whole different situation. Hot Rod was not fast in the water, and he very much doubted Barricade would be either. In fact, with those Praxian doorwings of his, Barricade was probably slower.

When the door was cracked only enough for them to peer out, Barricade shined his lights out into the hall while Hot Rod peered into the gloom. The whole deck was flooded, but suddenly Hot Rod didn't find the white walls, floor, and ceiling quite so ridiculous. He could see well enough to know it was empty and gestured for Barricade to help with the door again.

Barricade led because Hot Rod had no idea where they were going. Maybe there was another way down to the first level and the moon pool. Hot Rod wasn't exactly sold on the idea of _not_ just leaving. Slow seascooters were still mobile, and at least outside, they would be able to maneuver.

Another door was pried open just wide enough to squeeze through, and they paused there inside the room. Hot Rod gripped Barricade's arm because _holy fragging Pits_ , there was a direct path right out to the sea. It was torn through another handful of rooms and halls, but that was an exit. A bit worrying was the fact said hole was monster sharkticon-sized, however, they were pretty low. Get out, find either a craft or Hot Rod's seascooter, and away they went!

The lights suddenly went out, and Hot Rod only just kept himself from squeaking. Without Barricade's lights -and no dim purple emergency lights on in the room- the outside sea was just a little brighter. It made it so they could see the huge shadow glide along past the opening.

Barricade moved after it passed, and Hot Rod followed, keeping a tight grip on the Decepticon's arm. He finally got it when Barricade wrenched open a locker and handed him a spear gun.

Primus, really? They were _really_ going to try to kill a thing _that big_ with these itty bitty spear guns? Hot Rod gave Barricade a flat look, though he knew it was a wasted effort. No, they needed something... more. Something with some kick to it.

Or, Hot Rod thought as he pushed forward toward a different locker, something that would kick if it were shot. A sliver of light shone through the crack between the doors, and Hot Rod figured this must be some kind of multipurpose storage room. Weapons, supplies, and _energon_.

One stack of compressed -notoriously, gloriously _unstable_ \- Earth cubes were held up triumphantly, and Hot Rod saw as Barricade's optics bobbed when he nodded.

Their real trouble was, however, getting the energon into the sharkticon's mouth and then detonating it without dying in the process. The lack of communication sucked too, and Hot Rod figured Barricade could just follow him for a bit. They carefully made their way to the torn wall, and Hot Rod squinted into the gloom. Their exit was right there, and Hot Rod knew enough about explosives to know that _he_ was in more danger inside than outside. Besides, the sharkticon was out there.

Or so he had thought until the little light from outside was suddenly blocked off and a flat, dull green optic appeared.

Hot Rod went utterly still, mere steps away from it, but the sharkticon swam slowly past them, continuing along the hall. Barricade was suddenly there, his grip on Hot Rod's shoulder painfully tight as they both stared after the sharkticon. It vanished around the curve of the hallway, and they both made their way across and into the next room as fast and as quietly as possible.

Hot Rod's spark beat a frantic tattoo in its crystal, but once he and Barricade were hunkered against the wall, he flashed the Decepticon a grin. Maybe it wasn't hungry anymore? Maybe it was just happy to have killed Shockwave and wanted to destroy the base, but would let them live. Maybe they shouldn't kill it?

Barricade shook his head at Hot Rod and pointed outward to where the open sea waited.

Fair point, Hot Rod thought as he was tugged along. They weren't out yet, and the glow from the energon did mess with his ability to see past the shadows it created. Maybe it had done the same to the sharkticon? Maybe they just hadn't been seen? The energon glowed, but the sharkticon didn't see 'food' in a simple cube-shaped bit of light. Hot Rod figured it would be pretty stupid to stand right in front of it to find out.

Metal groaned, the sound oddly loud yet muffled through the water, and Hot Rod yelped before he could stop himself as the floor suddenly lifted under his feet and sent them sliding. Hot Rod clung to the energon while Barricade clung to him with an arm around his waist. There was a deep _thoom_ that Hot Rod felt as much as heard, and then they were moving. Rather, Barricade was moving, and he was _carrying_ Hot Rod by that arm around his middle.

Hot Rod frowned, but decided against struggling as something heavy fell right where they had been, the water doing nothing to slow it. He apparently owed Barricade one.

They crossed through another room, and Hot Rod was left to sink to his aft just inside the ragged edge of the wall. Barricade crouched next to him, one of the Decepticon's hand's finding Hot Rod's shoulder to grip and press. Hot Rod shifted the compressed cubes farther to his other side, hoping to aid their vision, and peeked around too.

It was dark, and with the distant sounds of creaks and squeals from the base falling -or being torn- apart, Hot Rod had no idea if it was safe to cross the last hall, or if the sharkticon was there in the dark waiting. But the exit was still there, tantalizingly close. Just beyond the hall was one last room, its outer wall gaping open to freedom. Though honestly, the whole thing was pretty frightening when he thought about it. How the frag had the sharkticon driven itself through -Hot Rod counted- six walls? One of which was thicker than the others because it needed to keep the entire sea at bay.

Well, sitting there wasn't going to do them any good at all. Hot Rod reached up and touched Barricade's headlight, feeling as the mech flinched. A moment later the lights came on. It was blinding for a moment, but once his optics adjusted, Hot Rod was able to see that the hall was clear in one direction. Bracing himself -because this was the part in the movies where the bad thing of murderous intent would be waiting- he peeked around the wall and into the corridor.

Nothing.

Hot Rod turned back to get both hands on the energon and froze.

Two dull, green optics glowed from the room they had just fled. The sharkticon hovered there in the water, tail and fins moving slowly.

Oh. Frag.

 _Hot Rod_ was against the wall, but Barricade still had his back to the room, his body in the opening, the lights shining and reflecting back from the hall. Hot Rod wished he could just say something, but he was afraid sound or movement would make the sharkticon attack. Still, he couldn't just let it eat Barricade. Decepticon or not, horrifying, scary-bad reputation or not, Barricade had helped Hot Rod. Hot Rod wouldn't let him be eaten.

Moving as slowly as he could, optics on the sharkticon, Hot Rod pushed his hand out to the side until it met Barricade's plating- hip, he thought, but who really cared if he was groping the Decepticon's aft at the moment?

Barricade, unknowing of what was behind him, didn't move slowly when he turned to look down at Hot Rod, and that really was all it took.

Hot Rod let go of the energon, grabbed Barricade with both hands, and _yanked_ as hard as he could while twisting to the side. Water rushed by, Barricade's deep voice sounding in a garbled shout. Hot Rod _felt_ the mass of the sharkticon as he shot by, but only once Hot Rod was able to look up did he see that it had completely missed its meal. Barricade sat stunned on his aft, mouth open, optics wide and pink.

The lights!

Metal tore far too close by for comfort, and Hot Rod emphatically pointed at Barricade's headlights. Barricade might have been shocked and scared, but he reacted quickly and the room went black except for the energon.

Right. The energon.

Hot Rod picked up the spear guns and shoved them both into Barricade's hands, then grabbed up the energon. There was that weird muffled roar-sound, and Hot Rod figured that was their monster. The sharkticon had over shot, and would have to come back. They might make it out, but then what? Hot Rod had the perfect set-up here, even if the concussion would ring their bells and maybe collapse the whole base on them.

A clump of wires from the ceiling were grabbed and tugged down until Hot Rod had enough to wrap around the energon. He left that hanging right in the middle of the gaping hole the sharkticon had made, and turned back to Barricade. Somewhere close by, but _outside_ their room, metal screamed, so Hot Rod grabbed Barricade by the wrist and pulled him back, deeper into the room. When Barricade tugged against his hold, Hot Rod squeezed the Decepticon's wrist and pulled harder. No. This way. He had a plan, and once they reached the wall, and the hole in it, Hot Rod took one of the spear guns, tapped Barricade's headlight, and then pointed back toward the energon.

Barricade was smart, Hot Rod decided. Like, sure, everyone said he was, but he was really quick on the uptake. No words, and he seemed to understand exactly what Hot Rod wanted to do.

And disagree strongly with it.

As arguments went, this was probably the most comical in Hot Rod's life. He would tap and point and go to take his place just beside the hole, and Barricade would grab his arm, make a slashing motion through the water between them, and shake his head. Hot Rod wasn't going to give up, though. The idea would work, but he really needed Barricade's lights to draw the sharkticon back to them.

Luckily for Hot Rod, the sharkticon didn't need the light to find them, and Barricade decided to stop arguing when it roared and charged. Argument over, they both turned and fired, and the concussion from the exploding energon was everything Hot Rod figured it would be.

Painful, being right at the top of that list.

~ | ~

Hot Rod smiled as they finally broke the surface, the little seascooter chugging away. It wasn't made to haul two mechs around very quickly, but it'd managed well enough. Barricade was slightly worse off than Hot Rod, what with a dislocated doorwing and bad dent in the same shoulder, but he would live too. In fact, he'd regained consciousness before Hot Rod, and awakened him.

The sharkticon -poor thing really- was dead. All that was left was the back two-thirds of it. Hot Rod had been a bit fascinated to see what he was pretty sure had been Shockwave's lower leg, but Barricade had tugged at him, and Hot Rod didn't want to hang around there any longer anyway.

"Frag me," Barricade said, his helm thunking lightly against Hot Rod's shoulder.

"Nice night for a swim though," Hot Rod said, staring up at the stars. From here, he was able to reorient his GPS, and set them on a course for the shore. It was going to be a long trip, but Hot Rod was just happy they were alive. "So now that Shockwave's dead, what are you going to do?"

"Megatron's alive," Barricade said.

"Yeah, but Megatron's the one who's been letting Shockwave get away with feeding Decepticons to his science projects."

"Are you seriously trying to recruit me to the Autobots, brat?" Barricade asked, his head lifting.

Hot Rod could imagine the look the back of his head was getting and grinned. "Maybe. I mean, if nothing else, I can promise you that Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime don't have pet sharkticons."

Barricade huffed something that might have been a laugh and dropped his head back down to Hot Rod's shoulder. "Can't deny that'd be a step up from my recent experiences."

"Food for thought," Hot Rod chirped, his smile growing. He left Barricade to think it over and focused on getting them back to land. If Hot Rod never set foot in the Sea again, it might very well be too soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to know more [About Me](https://ladydragon76.dreamwidth.org/334490.html)?


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